Portable letter writing device



March 21, 1950 c. E.'wAL'rERs PORTABLE LETTER WRITING DEVICE Filed April 18, 1946 wwuhm m Immun.

Patented Mar. 21;, 1950 UNITED STATS TENT oFFicE 1 Claim.

This invention relates to improvements in a portable letter' writing device and has for an object the provision of a device of this type adapted t0 facilitate the Writing of letters by persons reclining upon beds or chairs in hospitals, public conveyances, class rooms, etc.

It is another object oi this invention to provide a portable letter writing device comprising a iiat board having a set of rolls journaled at the upper end thereof to receive and hold one or more sheets of paper in selected writing position, the rolls being manually operable for moving the paper upwardly relative to the board as the writing progresses toward the lower edge of the sheet and thus, at all times, dispose the paper in the most convenient position.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a portable letter writing device embodying a driving roll and a pair of driven rolls journaled in parallel alignment upon one end of the board to frictionally engage and hold a sheet of paper interposed therebetween, and an improved resilient mounting for the driven rolls to yieldably resist movement of same out of operative frictional engagement with the driving roll.

This invention further contemplates the provision of a portable letter writing device which is compact and attractive in appearance, reliable in operation and inexpensive to manufacture.

This invention embodies other novel features, details of construction and arrangement of parts which are hereinafter set forth in the specification and claim, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 is a. top plan view showing a portable 1.

letter writing device embodying features of this invention, the writing board being partly broken away.

Fig. 2 is a side elevational View of same.

Fig. 3 is a top plan View of the letter Writing device with the driving roll removed to more clearly illustrate the driven rolls and the resilient mounting for same.

Fig. 4 is a rear elevational view of the Writing device.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

Referring now to the drawing' for a better understanding of this invention, the portable letter writing device is shown as comprising a board which may be formed of any suitable material to provide a smooth upper surface to receive one or more sheets of writing paper 1. While the board 6 may be of any size, it is preferably forrned to receive and support a sheet of legal size writing paper.

A roll supporting bracket 8 is formed with an elongated body portion 9 and a ange II for engagement against the underside of the board 6 by means of rivets I2. A pair of ears I3 are provided on the supporting bracket 8 to extend upwardly from opposite ends of the body portion 9, and formed with apertures I 4 to receive journals il? provided on opposite ends of a driving 5 1'011 A driven roll support I8, formed of resilient spring metal, is secured intermediate its ends to the body portion 9 of the supporting bracket 3 by means of rivets I9. The ends 2l of the driven roll support i3 incline upwardly away from the body portion 9 and are recessed at 22 to receive journals 23 formed on a driven roll shaft 2li. A pair of driven rolls 25 are provided on the shaft 2li for frictional line engagement with the driving roll I'I. It is contemplated, however, that a driven roll constructed similar to the driving roll II may be journaled in the recesses 22 of the support I8, if desired. It is also contemplated that the outer surfaces of the rolls I'I and 26 may be covered with rubber or other suitable material to provide an improved traction surface to prevent slippage of a sheet of paper from between the rolls. A plurality of apertures are formed in the body portion 9 ofA the supporting bracket 8 to receive rubber buttons 2? which serve as resilient cushions on the bottom of the writing device.

In the use of a writing device of the type shown and described, the paper? is inserted between the driving roll I'I and the driven rolls 26 and positioned to suit the user by manual rotation of the driving roll. During the Writing of a letter, the sheet I may be progressively advanced toward the upper end of the writing board by rotation of the driving roll I'I in order to position the paper inthe most convenient writing location upon the board. It will also be noted that the free upturned ends 2| of the resilient roll supporting member I8 serve to maintain the driven rolls 26 in operative frictional engagement with the driving roller I'I.

While this invention has been shown in but one form, it is obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited but is susceptible of various changes and modications without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed invention.

I claim as my invention:

In a portable letter writing device, a base in 0 the form of a sheet of hard material and of sufoient size to support a sheet of writing paper, a roll-supporting bracket blanked and formed from sheet metal, said bracket embodying a ange secured against the lower face of said base, said bracket having an elongated body supported by said flange and disposed in offset parallel relation thereto, a pair of ears projecting upwardly in spaced parallel relation from opposite ends of said body, a driving roll journaled on 60 said ears above the upper surface of said base,

Sii

a pair of resilient arms provided on and extending outwardly in opposite directions along the upper surface of said elongated body and having their remote free ends bent upwardly toward said driving roll, a driven roll shaft journaled on the free ends of said resilient arms, and driven rolls mounted on the ends of said driven roll shaft and frictionally engaging opposite end portions of said driving roll, the points of Contact between said driving roll and said driven rolls being in a common plane with the upper surface of said base.

' CYRIL E. WALTERS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 511,031 Stuart et a1. Dec. 19, 1893 '136,005 Peak Aug. 11, 1903 802,717 Stevens Oct, 24, 1905 1,013,868 Dow Jan. 19, 1912 

